How do you keep the hook holes from plugging up?

[Amador]

I have been powder coating my jig heads, I try to poke them clean after I dip them, but them look really messy>

Thanks,

Chris

[Coley]

As soon as you pull the jig out of the powder, blow hard at the hole.

This works pretty good for me.

Otherwise let them cool and clean the hole out before you

cure them in the oven.

I haven't tried this but, you might wrap a small piece of alum. foil

around the eye and pull it off as soon as you pull the jig out.

Coley

[Pop]

When I first started using the powder paint, I just heated the jig with an alcohol burner and dipped into the jar of powder. Rarely did I get any with clear eyes. I graduated to the single fluid bed and now get half of the jigs with a clear eye. I think with practice, almost all be be clear. You need to dip quickly and tap on the side of the fluid bed immediately. What I didn't think about before was that if I cleared the clogged eyes then cured them, the remelting of the paint would even out around the eyes and possible not clog them again. Like the car insurance commercial says, "for people who like minimum coverage". Too much powder is not good, that is another reason I don't think dipping again for glitter will work very well as you will be using even more powder paint. Let us know how you make out and maybe you will learn something that will help me do better. Pop

[Dungeonhawk]

Here is something I figured out today. I just made my first fluid bed (actually a 5 pot system) today, and found out the answer to the above question as well

I read this post earlier and decided to find a solution for you.

Take an earplug, cut it in to thinner strips, and in half. Twist them in your fingers, and put through the eyelet. Paint, remove.

I tested it and it works great and always leaves the eye clear from paint, yet the outside of the eye gets painted, which I think looks good.

[cadman]

This has always worked for me, and I still use it to this day. I put on some times five colors and then a glitter powder coat. With all this paint, and doing bottom, top, left and right flanks, I still do get paint on my hook eyes. Take a new drill bit slightly smaller than the inside diameter of your hook eye. As soon as you dip your hot jig in the powder, pull it out, and stick the smooth round end (not the drill end) into the hook eye, and out the other end. Make sure your jig eye is parallel with the table. This will push th excess paint out, leaving some paint on the jig eye. Next take the jig, and lightly go over you heat source, and it will smooth out the paint you pushed through.......... Now you have a jig with a nicely coated jig eye...

[bassn1]

I just use a paper clip or a piece of spinnerbait wire and heat the end and push it thru the eye. Just make sure you do this before you put them back in the oven to cure.

[jigmaster]

I grappled with this one off and on for awhile.........I finally decided to simply cure the heads after painting, and I drill the eyes clean with a dremel and a small engraving tip.

It works well

Adds another step, but it is the only 100% effective solution I have found.

JM

www.daimonlures.com

[Cgraff]

I have been powder painting for about 6 years. I have a similar way to clean the eyes. I use a small dremel bit (small grinding stone) I break all the stone off so that it is just a pin. When the jigs are cool I Just poke the bit thru the eye with the dremel on high speed. It just melts the paint. No burrs and its real quick.

[reeves]

OK, my turn!

I use a piece of .050 spinnerbait wire about 4" long and tapered on the ends. As soon as I remove from the fluid bed, I stick the wire through the hook eye, reach around and grab the tip of the wire that you just pushed through the eye and continue to draw the wire through. As you are drawing it through, rotate it between your thumb and finger. This allows the paint to grab the wire and you spiral all the excess out of the hook eye hole. Leaves a very thin coating of paint on the hook eye and looks great. I use the same size piece of wire on 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0 hooks. I never have to mess with the hook eye again, put them in the oven to cure. Good Luck!

[doomdart]

I just use a paper clip or a piece of spinnerbait wire and heat the end and push it thru the eye. Just make sure you do this before you put them back in the oven to cure.

I think bassn1 has the key. You should try to clear the eye before the oven cure. You can bust the eye like he describes, or take a pair of flat jaw (needle nose) pliers and "skate" the outside curvature of the eye with a squeeze or two. It will break off the brittle paint. Then cure in the oven.

On a few jigs I did this way that saw HEAVY use, the paint begain to peel around the base of the eye. But jigs take abuse and will chip after heavy use, so I would still recommend the bassn1 method along with the sharp edge flat jaw plier method.

[JIGNPIG]

Ok guys here is the best and easiest way to clean the powder paint off the eye's of the hook. First heat and dip the jig in the paint, as soon as you take it out of the paint dip the jig in a small bowl of cool water, this stops the paint from continuing to cure. Scrape the paint out of the eye, it should just chip off. Then just bake to finish them off!

[kelly]

I do the same as half of you. I put down a peace of white paper. get my split ring pliers and start busting them out they clean out nice. also the water to cool helps you bake them any way. then the chips of paint on the paper, I add them to my crawdad colors for the big flake look. It looks good!!!

also the colors you use on top of your trout look good on top of a hot jig. nice speckled look!

[buckslayer]

I didn't realize that there are so many ways to bust out the eyes... I think the easiest way is not to plug the eyes in the first place. If you are plugging the eyes you are using too much (and thus wasting) paint. Obviously this takes quite a bit of practice. A fluid bed will also help. If you do any kind of volume at all, I highly recommend a fluid bed. If I do plug my eyes, I just use an eye-buster. Cheap little $2.00 tool you can buy at any tackle place. If you don't have one, someone else stated earlier to heat the jig, cool it immediately in water, and then scrape the eyes out. You can use a utility knife to scrape the eyes out. Just stick the point in the eye and twist.

[doomdart]

First heat and dip the jig in the paint, as soon as you take it out of the paint dip the jig in a small bowl of cool water, this stops the paint from continuing to cure. Scrape the paint out of the eye, it should just chip off. Then just bake to finish them off!

That's a nifty idea. The only thing I worry is that by stopping the curing you might weaken the bond of paint to lead. I guess the curing in the oven helps that. Do you find that they any more likely to chip on rocks if you do it that way? I'm not saying it would be, but that is what I would assume.

[buckslayer]

The only thing I worry is that by stopping the curing you might weaken the bond of paint to lead. I guess the curing in the oven helps that. Do you find that they any more likely to chip on rocks if you do it that way?

Absolutely not. You are correct that the curing process helps it. Curing creates an extremely durable finish and I highly recommend curing all powder painted items. The durability difference is tremendous. I do a demo at fishing shows where I paint a jig, cool it in water, and cure it. I then take a cured lead jig and throw it (not drop it) on the cement floor to demonstrate the durability. The jigs will dent, but the paint does not chip. If you try the same thing with a jig that is not cured, the paint will spider crack and/or chip.